Envelop.



'No..782,344. PATENTED FEB. 14, 1905.

Rl WI I ENVELOP. Arrmouron 'FILED 1mm 1, ma.

UNITED STATES Patented February 14, 1905.

PATENT e OEEICE.

ROBERT W. KING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, -ASSIGNOR TO ILLINOIS ENVELOPE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ENvELoP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,344, dated February 14, 1905.

Application filed June 1, 1903. Serial No. 159,495. A

T0 al?, whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. KING, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improve'- ments in Envelops, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to envelops and blanks therefor, and especially to that class commercially and popularly known as pennysavers, in which the envelops have the appearance of being entirely closed in the ordinary sealed form, requiring postage at the regular rates of irst-class matter, whereas, in fact, they are not entirely closed, but the contents are readily accessible for inspection by the postal authorities, so that they are, in fact, mailable at second-class rates.

It is well known that where circulars and other advertising mediums are sent out the public will not trouble to investigate the contents of an unsealed envelop-such as where the top ap is merely turned into the body of the envelop, as when circulars, Sac., are sent out at second-class or penny rates-as the receiver at once recognizes the fact that it contains advertising matter, whereas when a sealed envelop is received this unfavorable impression is not produced and the contents of the envelop are generally removed. For these reasons concerns that send out circulars, &c., by mail now send the same as lirst-class mail-matter and pay first-class postage rates,

whereby the expense forpostage is doubled.'

The object of the present invention is to provide an envelop which shall have the appearance of being closed or sealed, but which, in fact, is open for the ready inspection of the contents by the postal authorities, whereby it goes as second-class matter and at secondclass rates of postage. A

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure l isa plan View of a suitable blank cut from paper-stock and from which my new envelop is made. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the back of an `envelop made from the blank of Fig. l and showing the envelop before the top closing-flap is turned down toplace. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the unclosed end of an envelop made from a blank of Fig. l and showing'the arrangement of parts after the top closing-flap is turned downto position; and Fig. 4 is a front view of the closed envelop made from the blank of Fig. l, the dotted lines showing the positions of the parts. l

The, blanks from which my envelops are formed consist of front or body portions @,each having an angular or tapering top closing iiap suitably gummed, and backs composed of a long end flap c and an angular gummed bottom closing-Hap d and a short end ap e, all integral and cut from suitable' stock, preferably in the form shown in Fig. l. The top closing-flap is suitably 'gummed, and in practice the long end flap cis slightly shorter than the front portion c, terminating at its free end adjacent to but short of the end of the body a, from which the short end liap c eX- tends, so that after the long end [lap has been folded to place it lies behind and is concealed by the front portion or body a, which then presents no free edges to the eye when the envelop is held in position to read the address or with its front face toward the eye, as shown in Fig. 4. I also prefer to cut the long end flap c with the lower recess or cut-away portion c following approximately theaugular line of the bottom closing-flap, as this saves considerable stock in cutting the blanks and also reduces the weight of the finished envelops in bulk. The top line of the long end flap is also preferably slightly angular in order to reduce the width of the free ends of theiiaps, as shown in Fig. 2. The short end iiap is reduced in width at its outer or free end by means of inclined sides, whereby it is more readily removed from its folded pos-ition beneath the long end flap to allow inspection of the contents when desired by the postal authorities. The short end flap is not gummed' in any manner and is not intended to be sealed either in whole or in part to or by any of the cooperating members of the envelop, but projects between and is held in place by the end of the long end iap and the front portion ct, the long end iap in turn being held in place by the bottom closing-flap,

which is sealed thereto. By these means the short flap is loosely and removably retained in its closed position.

In forming the envelops the short end aps e are first turned to position upon the backs of the body portions, the long end aps c are then turned over upon the vbacks and with their ends overlapping the short end flaps, and, finally, the bottom closing-aps CZ are turned down upon the cutter portions of the long flaps and sealed in place in any suitable manner. The parts occupy the positions shown in Fig. 2, the dotted lines showing the position ofthe short end iiap.

When the envelop is employed by sealing the top iiap b, it constitutes a closure for second-class matter at penny rates, but has the appearance of first-class matter and presents a smooth and finished front to the eye as the body is slightly longer than the long end flap, which thereby lies entirely behind it and is concealed by it, so that there are no exposed edges. The short flap is located at the left end of the envelop as it faces the receiver, and as the envelop is usually opened by tearing off its right-hand edge the fact is not generally noted that it is an unsealed or second-class envelop. The short flap gives ready access to the contents for investigation by the postal authorities to ascertain that first-class matter is not inclosed at second-class rates. Vhen the envelop is closed in the manner heretofore described, the free end of the long end iiap c extends beyond the tapering edge of the top flap adjacent'that end ofthe body to which the short end flap is attached, and the exposure of the free end of the long Hap after the top closing-Hap is turned to place and between the edges of the top and bottom closing Hap, as shown in Fig. 3, readily indicates to the postal authorities when the envelop is reversed to examine the'closure, the manner of making the desired investigation.

Having described my invention, I claim- An envelop comprising a front portion having gummed tapering top and bottom iiaps, a long iiap extending from one end and terminating adjacent to but short of the opposite end of the front portion and inclined at its upper edge toward its free end and adapted to have sealed thereto the bottom iiap,and a relatively short end flap extending from the said opposite end of the front portion and projecting between and loosely held by the end of the long iap and the front portion, the upper corner of the free end of the long flap being adapted to extend beyond the adjacent tapering edge of the top iap when the latter is closed.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT W. KING.

Witnesses:

E. MoLIToR, J. McRoBERTs. 

